


Best Laid Plans

by StardustAndAsh



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen, Hunt Gone Wrong, Hurt Noctis Lucis Caelum, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 13:25:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18032558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StardustAndAsh/pseuds/StardustAndAsh
Summary: In need of gil, the boys set off hunting a pack of voretooth. As the saying goes, the best laid plans of chocobos and kings oft go awry.





	Best Laid Plans

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little thing I wrote while Ignis drives the boys all around the map. Gotta do something when 99% of sidequests involve driving from one end of the world to the other.

It was just supposed to be a quick hunt for some gil. They just needed enough to buy some curatives and some supplies for camping. Maybe enough for a night in a caravan. Simple. Just some voretooths that had been spotted a little too close to the chocobo race tracks.

The boys had left the regalia behind and dragged themselves into the forest as they drew closer to the location. In the distance they could hear the snaps and snarls of the voretooths they were hunting.

“We good with the plan?” asked Gladio quietly as the four hid behind a bush.

“Yeah, we got it big guy,” said Noctis with a smirk, playfully pushing Gladio off balance. “You only went over it eight times at breakfast.

“Only because you kept falling asleep in the middle Noct,” said Prompto.

“Shut up.”

“Are we ready?” asked Iggy, calm and cool as always.

Without bothering to answer Noctis summoned his sword to his hand and quickly picked a target through the leaves. Deep breath in, deep breath out, visualize where you want to be, throw sword and go. He disappeared in a shatter of crystalline light and slammed blade first into his target voretooth.  It howled beneath him as it fell. Noctis pulled back for the deathblow, grip strong and sure on his sword. But his blade never fell.

Something heavy slammed into Noctis. All the air in his lungs left him before the thing slammed him into the ground. He only just got an arm up in between himself and the creature before sharp claws and teeth began tearing down at him.

“Noct!” Ignis screamed in the distance.

Shots rang out, but the voretooth above Noctis was determined. He tried getting his other arm free, but it was pinned uncomfortably beneath him. His shoulder was screaming in agony from the postion but Noctis was far more concerned about the full weight of the voretooth bearing down on him. Teeth bit deep into the flesh of his forearm. He swore he could feel the voretooth’s fangs reaching each other between his bones. Its claws raked at his side and chest.

Distantly Noctis realized that the ground beneath him was damp, though he couldn’t remember if it had rained that morning. He couldn’t think past the beast above him grinding its teeth down into his arm.

Why hadn’t anyone ripped this damn beast off him yet.

Noctis writhed underneath the voretooth. His feet scrabbled in the dirt as he tried to get them underneath the voretooth to try and push it off. It was no use. His legs felt like lead weights. Dimly Noctis heard the sounds of battle getting closer over the voretooth’s growls and his own screams. His friends were close, but he could feel his strength fading. They wouldn’t get to him before his arm was either ripped off or he lost the strength to keep the voretooth’s teeth away from his neck.

So Noctis came up with an idea. A bad idea, but an idea nonetheless.

Noctis summoned a flask to the hand the voretooth was trying to rip off, sent a quick prayer that he wasn’t about to kill himself, and with as much dexterity as he could manage, threw the flask at the voretooth’s face.

The world surrounding Noctis burst into cold white as the flask hit its mark. The voretooth threw itself off of Noctis with a howl. Noctis could feel the teeth ripping away from his flesh as it pulled back. He couldn’t help the scream that tore from his lips. Dark spots danced against the white in his vision.

Suddenly there were hands on him. They burned where they touched, patting his face and gently prodding at his arm and sides. Noctis let out a sob. It hurt. It hurt so much. All he wanted to do was to fall into the waiting darkness but the hands wouldn’t let him.

“… can you hear me?” a muffled voice broke through Noctis’ thoughts. Iggy. Had to be.

Noctis managed to open his eyes and slide them over to the fuzzy shapes of his three friends. They hovered over him, stark against the bright sky above. He couldn’t get his eyes to focus on them. It was like they were behind a wall of frosted glass. His mind then slid to the blizzara spell he had thrown. Had he hit any of them? Noctis tried to push himself up to see but found those burning hands pushing him back down.

Something small and smooth was pressed into Noctis’ hand and on instinct he squeezed. A burst of greenish-blue light lit up the space between himself and his friends before a soothing rush of magic enveloped his body. With the healing magic the deep wounds on his arms became no more than gashes and the slices in his sides becoming no more than thin lines of red. As the magic faded Noctis could see the frightened faces of his friends in sharp relief.

“You guys okay?” Noctis mumbled. He was still so sleepy. And numb.

“We’re fine dude, you’re the one that turned into a voretooth popsicle,” said Prompto.

Ignis began tearing strips from his shirt and deftly binding them around Noctis’ forearm as a makeshift bandage. Within minutes the once fine cloth was spotted with blood.

“Come, we must get him somewhere warm. Gladio, if you would,” said Ignis, taking charge of the situation.

Gladio crouched down next to Noctis and carefully collected him into his arms. Gladio always ran hot and to Noctis it was like being carried by Ifrit himself. It felt like wherever Gladio was touching him he was burning. He wiggled, trying to free himself but found Gladio’s arms like an iron vise.

“Hey, hold still,” said Gladio. “Ignis, he’s freezing.”

“To the car, quickly.”

The walk to the regalia was short but supremely uncomfortable. Gladio’s warmth hurt, and Ignis was doing his best to fuss even as they walked. By the time Gladio was sliding Noctis into the back seat of the car all Noctis wanted to do was sleep. Sleep and be left alone. Unfortunately he found himself squished between Gladio and Prompto with Ignis piling all of their sleeping bags on top of him.

“A haven? Or a motel?” asked Gladio as Ignis stepped on the gas and the regalia lurched forwards.

“Wiz’ is closest. The caravan is warm and dry, and that is what Noctis needs right now. I’d rather him have a warm bath, but beggars can’t be choosers.”

The drive to the chocobo ranch was thankfully short. The back of the regalia was most definitely not intended for three men and they were all feeling a little squashed. Both Gladio and Prompto had thrown an arm around Noctis’ shoulders in an effort to help keep him warm and not have their shoulders cramp. When Ignis pulled the regalia into the parking spot all three of them were sweating underneath the sleeping bags.

It didn’t take long to procure the caravan and some fresh ingredients. While Ignis busied himself in the kitchen Gladio practically threw Noctis into the caravan’s tiny bathroom with a soft set of pajamas and within minutes a curl of steam was coming from under the bathroom door. Nearly a full hour later Noctis emerged from the bathroom and blinked blearily at them all from under his mop of wet hair. He tried to beeline for the caravan’s bed and was intercepted by Prompto, who used a blanket to capture him and drag him back to the small table and plunk him down in one of the solid plastic chairs. A bowl of soup was place in front of Noctis and he set to work on it while Ignis rebandaged his arm with proper gauze. As the sun set outside the inside of the caravan seemed to glow with safety and happiness.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm thinking about making a little series of vignette stories like this while going through this playthrough of FFXV, Thoughts?   
> If you like that idea, nothing says it better than with a comment! Comments are the carrots that you dangle in front of writers to get them to write more for you.


End file.
